


Meeting (Not really)

by Mahnoorjahan



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Babies, Elorcan, F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Pregnancy, everyone is happy, rowaelin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 09:02:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mahnoorjahan/pseuds/Mahnoorjahan
Summary: Little Nehemia accidentally upsets her friend, Marion.





	1. Chapter 1

Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius, King of Terrasen, husband to Aelin Ashryver Galathynius and father of soon to be two children, sighed as Nehemia once again interrupted the meeting he was holding with his cadre (as Aelin so fondly called them) to place a pair of violet hydrangeas in Vaughan’s lap.

Vaughan grinned at him insufferably in response. They had taken the meeting outside in the gardens, since Nehemia was not boding well with being cooped up inside. And to get rid of the excess energy Rowan had given her the task of finding flowers that she liked. The idea had worked too well when she had taken it upon herself to present each Fae male present with a pair of flowers. 

He surveyed his comrades sitting at the table, the ones who were blessed with children at this point were accompanied by them as well, as evidenced by the tiny witchling slumbering on Fenrys’ chest, and Marion bouncing on Lorcan’s knee. And of course, Nehemia running around them in the castle gardens. Originally, she had started by giving Lorcan a single petunia. Six months old and a bit too curious for her own good, Marion had promptly teared it apart in her fascination and interest of the colorful thing. Nehemia had then had the wise idea of giving each male two flowers, one for them, and one to pass onto Marion, with which to do what she liked. 

So far, Gavriel had been given a pair of bright yellow tulips, Fenrys a pair of jasmines and Connall a pair of roses…no one really knew how she managed to get those without injuring herself in some way. But she wasn’t covered in dirt and Lorcan broke the stem off before deeming it fit to be in Marion’s hands. Having two children be satisfied at the same time was a remarkable feat itself. So no one complained.

The arrangement had worked out quite well, that is, until the interruptions happened too often for there to be any point in the meeting at all. And in good time as well since moments after he adjourned the discussion, Marion burst into tears.

Most of them were heading back into the castle when their heads whipped around at the distressed sound, protective instincts rising. Vaughan, the one closest, tried a sad attempt at offering her one of the gifted hydrangeas and in turn received a louder wail from Marion and a pointed growl from Lorcan, as reward for his efforts.

Rowan sent a glance in the others direction, which prompted them to turn and start back on the path towards the castle, Fenrys hauling ass towards the doors as gently as he could to keep his witchling from waking up from Marion’s crying. 

Only him, Lorcan, Nehemia and a very discontented Marion were left. Lorcan stood up from his chair, rocking Marion while trying to figure out what was causing her such distress. As Rowan neared their place on the table he noticed that, among the petals and stems of the many flowers she had shredded, a fine yellow dust littered the table…  
…The same dust she had on her hands and was now rubbing into her eyes. His eyes met with Lorcan’s as they came to the similar conclusion.

“Rutting pollen.” Lorcan grumbled as he shifted Marion so that she was pinned between his chest and arm, no longer able to lift her hands up and try and relieve the itchiness in her eyes, not knowing that she was adding to her suffering. “Language.” Was all Rowan said before he pointed towards the nearest water pump the gardeners often used, Lorcan dashed towards it, Marion still crying but lesser know that she wasn’t constantly adding more pollen to her eyes.

Rowan felt a tugging on his pant leg and looked down to behold Nehemia with her large, trademark Ashryver eyes, looking up at him earnestly. 

“I made her sad?” She implored, her tone laced with worry at how her little friend was acting. 

“No, my love. It wasn’t your fault.” He replied as he bent down to crouch to her level, “We’ll make sure she doesn’t get that many flowers in her hands next time, alright dove?” Nehemia nodded but still bit her lip in anguish. So far, Marion was her only friend. The castle could be a lonely place for a 5-year-old and the thought of hurting her gurgling, babbling companion made her quite distressed.

“Tell you what,” Rowan soothed further, seeing that his daughter was still quite troubled. “We’ll go and visit them tonight to see how Marion is doing, and if your Aunt Elide and mommy allow, you can play with her for a little while to make up for today.” 

Nehemia nodded enthusiastically at this, “Can we ask mommy now?” she begged once again with those large eyes.

He smiled at her quick change of mood and considered if his Fireheart would be done with her afternoon nap by now. “If she’s awake then of course.” He responded to a now beaming Nehemia.

Aelin was in her third trimester now and with the due date mere weeks away, the healer had advised her to rest as much as possible to build up her strength for the long and trying labour. It was part of the reason his daughter accompanied him to work nowadays.

And the other part, he thought, as he picked up Nehemia and headed towards his expecting mate, was that she needed to learn the ropes of the job as early as possible…certainly not because he enjoyed her disrupting his work, showing him her drawings and giving him hourly kisses on the cheek with imploring eyes to play with her, nothing like that at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Lorcan exhaled a heavy breath as he made his way up the castle steps. Marion still sniffed discontentedly but was now able to move her arms freely, currently she had fisted his tunic in a death grip as an attempt to get closer to the warmth his body provided. The front of her frock was still damp from the unfortunate ice-cold water that the garden pump had to offer. 

He should have caught on when she started sneezing periodically, knowing that a curious baby and freshly bloomed flowers would not be a lasting courtship. He had noticed that Gavriel gave Nehemia a concerned look when she went rummaging in the daisy patch not far from the picnic table, and subtly shook his head when she glanced his way, warning her not to give such a potently pollinated plant to little Marion.

Thank the gods for his comrade's quiet watchfulness, Lorcan didn't like the idea of having to rush his child off to the healer's ward...and even less of the wrath he would have faced when the explanation of the mess to Elide would arise. 

The air had started to cool since the sun decided to hide its bashful face behind a gathering of clouds. It was what they had taught Nehemia, and soon would teach Marion, to sate her inquisitive young mind. Originally, he scoffed at the notion of teaching the future of Terrasen that the sky had feelings; until Aelin had opened a schoolbook from the large (now restored) library of Orynth to the chapter of the water cycle and demanded Lorcan teach the princess all that was on the page. When Nehemia had looked up at him with excitement and curiosity in those large gold-circled eyes, he patiently told her the tales of the sun and its friends. Making up details as he went along.

He couldn't look Rowan in the face for a week. 

The large corridors of the castle offered little respite from the chill that still accompanied early spring and Marion let out an offended cry at his pace, urging him to speed up so she could quickly be nestled in the safety and warmth of her cot. Lorcan did as he was commanded, wanting to avoid even the slimmest possibility of his daughter catching a cold. He and Elide were already so new to parenting, handling a feverish baby who couldn't articulate what she wanted would be quite a challenge. 

~xxx~

Elide lounged on the settee in the living area, a part of the space designated for them whenever they visited Orynth. Before Marion, they'd had a large room to themselves with not much except for a bed, work table, and several bookcases. It was by no means inadequate. She and Lorcan were never ones for luxury and grandeur, simple but elegant furnishings satisfied them quite nicely. 

But after Marion had been born, Aelin had insisted that they would be upgraded to a larger set of rooms. Lorcan had surprisingly agreed with Aelin for once, and now they had 3 rooms in total. One was their bedroom, one was Marion's nursery, and the largest one was a living room filled with everything. From the usual amenities to a tiny but efficient stovetop and cooling box, for when the large dining hall and food being sent up was not an option, to an arrangement of sofas and finally a comfortable rocking chair. 

Elide had savored this time alone with a relish. The baby was well watched and away while Marion would be happy as well. It helped that their visits to Orynth were longer than usual, due to the difficulty that was traveling with a child. No more hurricane of activity for two weeks straight, that left her happy but thoroughly drained as they made their way back to Perranth where she would collapse upon the bed for 48 hours.

She had just marked her place in the book Aelin had recommended yesterday when her sharp ears caught rapid footsteps approaching the doorway. Her forehead puckered in concern as Lorcan pushed open the door with his right hand, to reveal a decidedly upset Marion coupled with a slight dampness on the front of both their outfits. 

"What happened?" Elide asked as she hurried over to assess the situation, worried that the baby had somehow wet herself...upwards? She realized it wasn't urine as Marion reached out to her pleadingly, detecting a shiver once she was in her mother's arms. 

Lorcan grinned ruefully as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Somebody got far too many flowers in her hands," He reached out a hand to finger the moist neckline of the light frock. "Or to be more specific, too much pollen in her eyes."

Elide understood then. "Nehemia?" She inquired and her husband's nod affirmed what she had guessed already.

~xxx~

After a warm bath and change of clothes, Marion returned to being the gurgling, happy baby that she so often was. Cooing at Elide, or rather her lunch, from Lorcan's lap as her mother undid the laces of the top part of her dress. 

"Patience little heart." Lorcan murmured, gliding his fingers along her still-damp hair, "When you wait, the reward is much sweeter." eyes flickering to Elide's generous breasts as he said this. Marion nodded sagely as if understanding the secrets of the universe from her father's poorly disguised innuendo. 

"How wise of you, Lord Salveterre." crooned Elide and an amused huff was the only response. Finally, she pulled her hungry daughter into her arms and settled them both comfortably upon the rocking chair, intending to feed and rock her to sleep at the same time. Marion, once positioned, immediately seized the nipple of Elide's left breast into her mouth, content to suckle while her small head was pillowed in the crook of Elide's elbow.

~xxx~

Lorcan watched as his daughter fed eagerly, smiling when his wife raised her head to meet his eyes. There weren't words enough to describe how his heart still ached for Valentina, but perhaps...perhaps he was- no, they were starting to heal. 

She would always claim a part of his soul no matter what, he would have her tucked away in his heart forever. And there would be moments when he would uncover that part and mourn his baby girl for all she could have been.

Some of his thoughts likely had shown on his face, as Elide's brow furrowed in worry. 

"Something wrong?" She used her free hand to tilt his chin up as to properly scan what troubled him. Hellas almighty, he did not deserve her.

He expelled a long breath in the form of a sigh. "The day is approaching." He whispered, "It will have been another year soon." His shoulders threatening to tremble with each passing moment. 

Elide pursed her lips, and then nodded her understanding. Carefully choosing her words, “The day will come every year my love.” She answered. “Sometimes it will bear down heavy and sometimes there will be danger of forgetting it completely, but we will face it,” Here she took his hand in her own “Together.”

There were tears in those captivating onyx eyes of hers. Lorcan got up from his place across her on the armchair and pressed his lips to her forehead long and hard. Breaking away, he echoed her sentiment.

“Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> Join me in my trashcan on Tumblr ---> https://mahnoorjahan.tumblr.com/


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